WTF Art History

Painting

Finest Lake Paintings in Art History

I’m guessing we all have a happy memory that took place on or near a lake. Look at the sumptuous color in the James Dickson Innes (1887-1914)...

Candy Bedworth 22 March 2023

WTF Art History

Famous People and Their Doppelgängers in Art

Doppelgänger is a word of German origin (doppel- meaning “double,” and -gänger meaning “goer”). In old German folklore, it was believed...

Vithória Konzen Dill 16 March 2023

Ancient Greece

Persephone and the Pomegranate: Art in Ancient Greece

How has a simple, yet beautiful fruit, been the center of attention throughout history? The pomegranate is symbolic in many cultures and religions,...

Rachel Witte 11 March 2023

Johannes Vermeer, A Girl Asleep, 1656–1657, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Baroque

Vermeer’s Desperate Housewives

Johannes Vermeer was a master of ambiguity. His silent and calm interiors, and beautiful Dutch women, although innocent at first glance, seem to be...

Magda Michalska 2 March 2023

goncharova larionov romance Love Story

An Avant-Garde Love Story: Goncharova and Larionov’s Romance

Today I’ll show you an avant-garde love story, not because it’s very different from all other ones, but because it involves two avant-garde...

Magda Michalska 23 February 2023

Print with large white hare with red eyes presented frontally on pink background. The body of a hare is rounded. Asian Art

10 Rabbits in Asian Art for the Year of the Rabbit

Happy Year of the Rabbit, everyone! January 22, 2023, in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, marked the beginning of the Year of the Water Rabbit. Lunar...

Ela Bobek 22 February 2023

Dine & Wine

Fat Thursday: Keep Eating and Never Regret

​​Doughnuts, doughnuts… who wouldn’t be tempted by one freshly out of the bakery, covered in a sweet coating and with a warm, creamy...

Magda Michalska 16 February 2023

Animals

The World of Animals Created by Hans Hoffmann

Hans Hoffmann was a 16th-century German painter and draftsman. He was an artist in the court of Rudolph II (the one who loved arts and was probably...

Zuzanna Stańska 19 January 2023

Cornelis Saftleven, Who Sues for a Cow?, 1629, oil on wood panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Who Sues for a Cow by Cornelis Saftleven

Who Sues for a Cow is a masterpiece of social commentary by now-forgotten artist, Cornelis Saftleven. It is a strange painting from the Dutch Golden...

James W Singer 16 January 2023

Animals

Holy Cow! Why Did the Dutch Painters Love Cows?

Every time I look at 17th-century Dutch paintings, I ask myself the same question: why do they always show cows? You will probably think this is a...

Magda Michalska 13 January 2023

Painting

New Year’s Fireworks in Painting!

Bonfires, parties, or reading in bed. Ideas for how one should spend New Year’s Eve are endless, and everyone should spend it the way they like.

Magda Michalska 30 December 2022

Art State of Mind

Christmas Cards from Hell

As the postman brings you cheery season’s greetings from your nearest and dearest, let me guess what the images are on the front of your Christmas...

Candy Bedworth 25 December 2022